The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has unveiled its fourth and final list of 38 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections on Sunday, December 15. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal will contest from the New Delhi constituency, while Chief Minister Atishi will seek re-election from Kalkaji. Saurabh Bharadwaj will represent AAP from Greater Kailash.
The party has replaced the current MLA from Kasturba Nagar, Madan Lal, with Ramesh Pehlwan. Ramesh Pehlwan and his wife, Kusum Lata, a councilor, recently joined AAP after leaving the BJP.
Prominent names on the list include Gopal Rai from Babarpur, Amanatullah Khan from Okhla, and Satyendra Kumar Jain from Shakur Basti.
The upcoming election in the New Delhi constituency is set to be a high-stakes battle. Congress has nominated Sandeep Dikshit, the son of the late Sheila Dikshit, to challenge Kejriwal. This constituency is historically significant, as Sheila Dikshit, a three-time Delhi Chief Minister, lost to Kejriwal in both 2013 and 2015. For Sandeep Dikshit, this election is a chance to reclaim his family's political legacy and settle past rivalries.
AAP has also denied tickets to 20 sitting MLAs. Instead, three of these MLAs have nominated their family members. Vikas Bagga, the son of SK Bagga, will contest from Krishna Nagar. Puran Deep Sahni, the son of Prahlad Sahni, will contest from Chandni Chowk. Pooja Balyan, the wife of Naresh Balyan, is AAP's candidate for Uttam Nagar.
AAP’s earlier lists saw a mix of candidates, with the first list featuring six out of 11 nominees who had joined the party from the BJP and Congress. In the second list, AAP replaced 15 sitting MLAs with leaders who had been actively involved in party activities.
Arvind Kejriwal expressed confidence after the announcement of the final candidate list. On social media platform X, he criticised the BJP, saying the party lacked leadership, planning, and a vision for Delhi.
Elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly are expected in January 2025. AAP has announced it will contest independently, following a strategy similar to that of the Lok Sabha elections.